We want that new home, that fancy car, that big salary, the freedom to travel, and we want a beautiful husband or wife, real friends, and a compassionate family.
We want all of them, and these are all wonderful things to achieve, but what if you have two equally important desires? And what if two of your biggest desires are not interconnected?
Suppose, for example, that you value your career very much, and that the best place for your job is outside your city, but you also value your partner, and they can never move out of the state with you, and they has made that very clear to you. So, what should you do? What's the right way? And where will your life end? Let me tell you that there is no right path, or the right path is the direction you will choose.
Opportunity cost:
Do you have an idea of the opportunity cost? For those who have not heard of it, the opportunity cost is “losing potential gains from other alternatives when choosing one alternative.” This is the other thing you give up when making a decision. Therefore, if you decide to accept this job out of state, the opportunity cost is a failed relationship with your partner, and conversely, if you decide to stay, the opportunity cost is career advancement.
It is possible to determine opportunity costs. Choosing to stay to satisfy your friend, girlfriend, husband, or wife may result in a loss of income, and if you think your lifetime earnings will be $100,000 higher if you move out of the state, the opportunity cost of staying is exactly $100,000.
But what about the other way around? How can you quantify the loss of love? You can't, of course, and this raises your interest in some points. When we look at the opportunity costs, we focus on what we give up instead of what we earn. For example, if you choose to stay with your partner, you may give up $100,000, but you will be rewarded with the love of your life. If you leave, you may end a wonderful relationship, but in return you will have many job opportunities.
This means that the other side of opportunity costs is always qualitative, so how can you identify a limitless opportunity or define eternal love? Again, you can't. So, the potential you give yourself by choosing a desire rather than another always outweighs the cost of the decision. Also, because you follow your heart and make the best choice for yourself, the return on investment will always be positive.
The path you choose is a positive one:
The possibility always replaces the cost of abandoning something, no matter what you do and where you go, you will always face the cost of an opportunity; however, if you make the best possible decision based on the information available, the positive side becomes greater than any possible negative side because you chose the best fit for your life.
Sure, if you decide to stay and marry the person you love, your lifetime earnings may be lower, but who cares? You have chosen the life that is best for you, the person who will give you the most happiness, and that's all that matters, so how can you not stay with them?
Your life is full of limitless opportunities, yes, there are costs, but if you make decisions based on these costs instead of the infinite possibilities in your life, you will prepare yourself for failure. So instead, choose to focus on the advantages of choice rather than the downside because there are always downsides and also upsides, and because you follow the upside, your life will be rewarded with an opportunity you never expected before.
The problem is that we can determine the opportunity cost, but we can't bet on an opportunity that can't be seen. Also, there are opportunities wherever we go, which means we just have to go where we want to go.
Conclusion:
We will never know if the decision we make is right or wrong, as there is no room for retreat. We are trying as much as possible to predict, but we can never be sure. So, if you trust your intuition and make decisions that seem right to you, you will know that you are going in the right direction because there is no plan for life, and there is no right or wrong way. You can also follow your heart. As it seems to me, wherever your heart is, this is where you want to go, and there is no need to care about the opportunity cost.
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